1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to vending machines and, more particularly, to a vending machine with user ID/age verification system for providing an easy and convenient means of authenticating approved users before dispensing its products.
2. Prior Art
Vending machines provide snacks, beverages, lottery tickets, and other products to consumers without a cashier. Items sold via these machines vary by country and region. The total dollar volume spent in vending machines nationwide in the United States continued a ten-year pattern of increases. In 1994, the total vended dollar volume was $29,284,100,000. In 2004, the total vended dollar volume reached $44,190,409,000. Some types of vending machines are those that dispense personal products, typically in public toilet facilities. The machines in ladies' restrooms typically sell some form of absorbent device for menstruation such as a pad or tampon. The machines in men's rooms, when they are present, are most commonly used for the sale of condoms, though in some locations they may be found dispensing cologne, medicine, small candies, or even pornography. These are often found at toilets used by transient persons in high traffic locations, such as bus stations, shopping centers, airports and service stations.
In some countries, merchants may sell alcoholic beverages such as beer through vending machines, while other countries do not allow this practice. Sometimes a pass has to be inserted in the machine to prove one's age. In some countries like Germany and Japan, by contrast, cigarette machines are still common. Cigarettes were commonly sold in the United States through these machines, but this practice is increasingly rare due to concerns about underage buyers. The unauthorized buying of products such as alcohol and cigarettes by underage buyers will therefore require the use of an authentication system to verify a user's ID before the vending machine can dispense such product.
Accordingly, a need remains for an system in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present disclosure satisfies such a need by providing a vending machine with user ID/age verification system that is convenient and easy to use, lightweight yet durable in design, versatile in its applications, and designed for authenticating approved users before dispensing its products.